Southern Urban and Interface Forests - What's New

Visit our newest form of communication - the Leaves of Change Weekly. This Wordpress site includes informational posts about upcoming conferences, Center activities, links to related articles, job announcements, and much more. You can sign up for the weekly to bi-weekly newsletter on the site at: www.leavesofchangeweekly.org

Remember the feeling of wind brushing against your cheek or the momentary gasp as your boot slid on a big, slippery rock? Or, what about trees bursting with brilliant fall colors or the chirp, hoot and rustle in the woods that made you ask, ‘Who’s there?’ For many adults these memories are the stuff of their American childhood – rites of passage recalled with great affection and humor. For many, these experiences form the basis of a lifetime of enjoyment and caring for America’s great outdoors. That’s why the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) wants to help make playing in nature outdoors fun for kids again.

Since 1905, USFS has prided itself on educating the public about the Nation’s natural resources, including the 193 million acres of forests and grasslands it manages. Today that legacy continues as the Forest Service’s Conservation Education Office supports a wide variety of programs directed at pre-K to 12th grade students, their parents and educators. Programs draw from work performed by Agency experts who provide guidance in science, land management and recreation, which serves as the foundation for environmental literacy efforts. USFS also promotes partnerships with organizations that support its mission.

Read the full article and learn more about the Forest Service’s educational programs by clicking here.

To view archived InterfaceSouth Posts click here. 
 

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Backyard Woods program is designed to assist landowners in conserving, beautifying, and utilizing their small woodland plot. The program’s guide book includes detailed fact sheets on topics such as planning, wildfire protection, tree care, forest products, and wildlife. The “Backyard Woods: Bring You Vision to Life” guidebook is available for free download online in PDF, or a print copy can be ordered from the Arbor Day Foundation for $4.95 and includes a CD-ROM with twelve tip sheets. The Backyard Woods program is ideal for landowners with one to ten acres.

To learn more about the Backyard Woods program visit:
http://www.arborday.org/backyardwoods/index.cfm

To view or order the “Backyard Woods: Bring Your Vision to Life” guidebook visit:
http://www.arborday.org/backyardwoods/guide.cfm

This fall the Southern Fire Exchange (http://www.southernfireexchange.org/), a Joint Fire Science sponsored program dedicated to providing the latest fire science information to communities and practitioners across the South, will present a series of webinars on topics related to wildland fire and natural resource management.  The current schedule is as follows: 
 

Using the Southern Fire Exchange Resource Center
September 28, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
Using Smoke Prediction Models for Prescribed Burning Planning
October 19, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
Prescribed Fire and the Public: Myths and Realities
November 16, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System
December 14, 2011, 12:00-1:00 p.m. Eastern
 
To register and/or learn more about these webinars visit:
http://www.southernfireexchange.org/ProDev/Webinars.html
 
For updates from the Southern Fire Exchange, follow their Twitter account:
http://twitter.com/SEFireScience

InterfaceSouth recently developed a fact sheet about research conducted by the Southern Research Station and the National Institute of Standards and Technology that demonstrated that wildfire prevention education pays for itself many times over in the state of Florida. Wildfire prevention education aims to teach the public about the dangers of accidentally igniting fires, with the expectation that these activities will lead to fewer wildfires.

To view this fact sheet visit:
https://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/products/fact-sheets/economic-benefits/the-economic-benefits-of-wildfire-prevention-education/index_html

Congressman Ron Kind (D–WI) introduced the Moving Outdoors in Nature Act in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 18, 2010. The bill supports federal, state and local plans that help connect children with the natural world.

The Moving Outdoors in Nature Act will help get America’s kids healthy and active by bolstering support for more natural play areas, outdoor recreation programs, public health initiatives, outdoor learning environments, service learning and other initiatives. To learn more visit: http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Get-Outside/2010/11-18-10-Moving-Outdoors-in-Nature-Act-Introduced-in-US-House.aspx

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated 2011 as International Year of Forests (IYOF). This designation provides an excellent platform to increase awareness of the connections between healthy forests, ecosystems, people, societies, and economies.

Additional information can be found at the UN website: http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/.

Backyard Woods: Bring Your Vision to Life

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Backyard Woods program is designed to assist landowners in conserving, beautifying, and utilizing their small woodland plot. The program’s guide book includes detailed fact sheets on topics such as planning, wildfire protection, tree care, forest products, and wildlife. The “Backyard Woods: Bring You Vision to Life” guidebook is available for free download online in PDF, or a print copy can be ordered from the Arbor Day Foundation for $4.95 and includes a CD-ROM with twelve tip sheets. The Backyard Woods program is ideal for landowners with one to ten acres.

To learn more about the Backyard Woods program visit:
http://www.arborday.org/backyardwoods/index.cfm

To view or order the “Backyard Woods: Bring Your Vision to Life” guidebook visit:
http://www.arborday.org/backyardwoods/guide.cfm